EtsyBloggers Team

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Thursday, May 7, 2009

Here's an interesting and possibly controversial topic for you: Is there a difference between an art and a craft? Often times the two words get paired together, such as the popular activity at day camp. Other times the two words are swapped and used interchangeably, as though they share the same definition. How does one differ from the other?

A distinction between the two words is something I had never pondered until the subject was brought up as a topic for a blog carnival for the Etsybloggers Street Team.

I don't really like to make an argument for anything without having a good understanding of what I'm talking about, so I looked up the definition of both words on Merriam-Webster.com.

Art as a noun:1: skill acquired by experience, study, or observation art of making friends2 a: a branch of learning: (1): one of the humanities (2)plural: liberal artsbarchaic: learning, scholarship3: an occupation requiring knowledge or skill art of organ building4 a: the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects ; also: works so producedb (1): fine arts (2): one of the fine arts (3): a graphic art5 aarchaic: a skillful planb: the quality or state of being artful6: decorative or illustrative elements in printed matter

The first five definitions of art presented basically summarize that art is the final product of activity that combines skill, creativity, observation, and learning. The sixth definition specifically defines it as decoration or illustration in printed form.

Craft was described in the first three definitions as a skill, occupation, or trade requiring dexterity or artistic talent, or as the final product of the above actions. The fourth and fifth definitions are irrelevant

Based on this information, one might make the distinction as art being the creative process and craft being the manual process. An example of art could painting a picture of a scene from a day dream while a paint by numbers could be considered more of a text book craft. But do all crafts lack art? Absolutely not! Take jewelry making for example. It is a craft, for sure! Making a beaded necklace is pretty standard: beads, maybe a pendant, wire or similar threading material, crimps, and a clasp. But colors, patterns, textures are all part of the creative process, an artistic flair. Perhaps making a copy-cat necklace following a pattern using only and all of the suggested beads lacks personal art by the jewelry maker, but the pattern developer incorporated their own artistic flair in the design.

A similar argument could be made for knitting, sewing, and any activity that allows you to follow a basic pattern but add your own artistic and creative flair such as texture and color. Painting a still life or portrait doesn't make painting less of an art than something strictly from creative imagination does it? Of course not! Art does require craftsmanship, however. Having an artistic vision is one thing, but having the unique ability to have it turn out right is another. I could imagine a beautiful scene I'd like to paint, but I completely lack the ability to paint anything well- except maybe the walls in my house!

There are elements of art in craft and elements of craft in art. In my opinion they need each other to work.